Ridgemont Theatre

7720 Greenwood Ave.,

Seattle,
WA

A loss to Seattle was the destruction of this attractive old theatre in a great area. Could have lived on for years as a stage venue. Just add a stage and take off the bad front fake walls. An eyesore for years.

From 1978 through its closure in 1989, the Ridgemont was operated by a local art-house chain, Seven Gables Theaters. Seven Gables was later purchased by Landmark Theaters. Prior to 1978, the Ridgemont operated as a porn theater.

Bruen, the name on the 1930 photo, also ran the 45th Street in Wallingford.

The Ridgemont property is now an apartment/retail complex, but it retains the theater name. I saw my first subtitled movie at the Ridgemont in 1957 (and also my first nude female — Brigitte Bardot!)
It kicked off the era of arthouses in Seattle, although the Varsity and the Uptown showed occasional imports but mostly from Britain. It had a stepped floor with narrow rows so leg room was terrible and there was no way to improve it without redoing the whole floor. It had a small screen that did not handle scope movies very well.